<p>So Ive been lurking around CC for quite a while now and I've been looking to get an MS in biostatistics after reading countless comments about how statisticians are always in demand. </p>
<p>A typical quote I hear...</p>
<p>"we will always need people to crunch numbers in the STEM field, that's why statisticians are always in demand".</p>
<p>I explored this "idea" a little bit further.</p>
<p>I am a resident of Ohio currently and I went on jobs.com and searched "statistician" for Ohio. I found 16 results. Only 10 of them have the actual title of statistician. About 3 or 4 of them are senior positions.</p>
<p>Now if I were to complete an MS in statistics what are my actual chances of finding a job as a statistician in Ohio? In reality I would only have 6 or 7 jobs I could actually apply for.</p>
<p>I would be competing against thousands of applicants.</p>
<p>Now my question is... Where is the demand? It doesn't live up to the hype. Statisticians aren't in demand. There are more jobs out there for bio majors as lab techs if you look it up on this website.</p>
<p>Indiana: 19
Illinois: 76 (because of chicagos population)
Pennsylvania: 61</p>
<p>If stem researchers are so desperate for number crunchers, why the shortage of jobs? You also have to consider the risk of driving to interviews( if you're lucky to get the chance) and being rejected just like ANY other job out there.</p>
<p>Number crunching jobs are limited and the competition is just as if not more competitive than any other job out there. You are better off securing a lab tech job.</p>
<p>Those jobs require luck. You need an ivy league degree and a 3.5+ gpa. Most importantly you need internship experience. Internships are close to impossible to get because the competition is so stiff</p>
<p>Csh, while it’s true some of the jobs in the Bulge Bracket sector of finance requires luck and a ivy league education(think top banks like Morgan Stanley, UBS, Goldman Sachs, and Elite Boutiques, such as Blackstone) many other banks and smaller boutiques don’t require ivy league degrees. Don’t automatically dismiss the opportunities at the smaller boutiques.</p>
<p>Yeah but what about internships? They are just as hard to come by, which makes no sense. If you need experience for jobs it should make sense that lower level jobs should be easier to attain. </p>
<p>Actuary careers are very limited. Most people don’t even know what actuarial science is.</p>
<p>There are less actuary jobs than there are actual statistician jobs. You have to take multiple difficult exams that still don’t even guarantee an actual internship or a job.</p>
<p>Finance relies heavily on who you know more than what you know in order to find a job.</p>
<p>The job title is often not “statistician”. It can be “methodologist”, (data) “analyst”, “scientist” (really), “programmer”, “consultant”, “research assistant/associate”, “economist”, “sociologist”, etc.</p>
<p>I’m a sales analyst for a huge company. I’m not a statistician but I do crunch numbers. My job is interesting - I get asked a business question and search through Nielsen data to create a story for the account execs to tell to sell in products.</p>
<p>There are lots of applications of statistics in market research, web analytics, search engine marketing, social media monitoring, etc. </p>
<p>I think a lot depends on the interests and creativity of the degree holder. Companies with these positions aren’t necessarily going to go out and recruit on campuses for statistics majors, but a stats/math grad who has demonstrated interest or aptitude in the field should have a good chance for filling an open position.</p>